“Ukraine should be on guard”: Independent on North Korea’s unusual secret missile tests
North Korea has conducted two mysterious missile launches, which state media have unexpectedly kept quiet about. Experts suspect that Pyongyang is secretly testing modernized weapons for Russia. This dangerous upgrade is being created on the basis of real combat experience in Ukraine.
This is stated in the Independent article.
According to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, North Korea tested missiles twice in one week in August, probably in the Wonsan area. At the same time, attention was drawn to the fact that North Korean state media did not report any of these launches.
Such a lack of information is atypical for Pyongyang. North Korea usually promptly covers weapons tests that it considers successful or important from a strategic point of view. State media often publish photos of launches, technical details and footage of leader Kim Jong-un personally observing the tests. In this way, Pyongyang demonstrates its military capabilities to other countries and its own population – its achievements in the field of technology and defense.
The DPRK’s silence is especially striking against the background of Kim’s increased military cooperation with Russia. This includes, in particular, the dispatch of North Korean military personnel, as well as the supply of missiles and artillery systems to Moscow for the war against Ukraine.
According to experts, one of the reasons for the non-publicity of the tests may be the use of combat experience from the war in Ukraine to refine or modify North Korean missiles. At the same time, there is currently no sufficient evidence that the latest launches are directly related to weapons that Pyongyang is preparing for Russia. If such a connection is confirmed, the consequences could affect not only the traditional participants in the confrontation in East Asia, but also Europe.
The last launch took place on August 12. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched from the southeastern city of Wonsan and traveled about 700 km eastward before falling into the Sea of Japan.
The timing of the test is also noteworthy. It took place on the eve of the joint US-South Korean military exercises Ulchi Freedom Shield, scheduled for August 17-27. About 18,000 servicemen are expected to take part in the exercises.
The previous launch took place six days earlier. Then Pyongyang, presumably also from the Wonsan area, launched a short-range ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan. Wonsan is a port city and naval base in Gangwon Province.
North Korean state media usually reports on major weapons tests within 24 hours. Therefore, the lack of official information about the latest launches leaves open the question of whether they were mainly a political signal or had a specific military purpose.
“The silence is telling,” said Jagannath Panda, director of the Stockholm Center for South Asia and the Indo-Pacific at the Swedish Institute for Security and Development Policy.
According to him, “because North Korea often uses successful missile tests as tools for internal legitimacy, technological signaling and external deterrence.”
“One possibility is that Pyongyang was conducting developmental or technical tests during which publicity was unnecessary until the program reached a certain stage,” the expert suggested.
The lack of official announcements has also given rise to speculation that the missile tests may have failed or that the characteristics demonstrated during them did not meet expectations. At the same time, Panda urged not to draw hasty conclusions.
“However, I would caution against automatically interpreting silence as a sign of failure,” Panda said, emphasizing that North Korea does not make public information about all its military activities.
“The current case is interesting because of the combination of repeated launches from Wonsan, the relatively short intervals between them, and the absence of the usual photos, technical statements, or reports of the presence of management during the tests,” the expert added.
According to Panda, the assumption of a possible connection of the recent launches with the supply of missiles from Russia now seems “much more plausible,” although there is currently no open evidence that would allow confirming a direct connection.